scholarly journals Visual communication in social play of a hierarchical carnivore species: The case of wild spotted hyenas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Paolo Nolfo ◽  
Grazia Casetta ◽  
Elisabetta Palagi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Sequential Analysis ◽  
Optimization Theory ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visual Contact ◽  
General Hypothesis ◽  
Play Fighting ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
Motor Actions

Abstract Communication relies on signals that can be produced via different sensory modalities to modify receivers’ behaviour. During social interactions, the possibility to perceive subtle visual cues enhances the use of facial expressions to exchange information. One of the most appropriate fields to explore the specific design features of visual signals is play fighting. Here, we explored the production and potential role of Relaxed Open Mouth (ROM) and Head Bobbing (HB) in regulating play fighting of wild spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta, a highly hierarchical carnivore species. In accordance with the assumptions of the signal optimization theory, wild hyenas produced ROM and HB almost exclusively when the sender was in direct visual contact with the receiver thus suggesting that senders were attentive to the playmates’ face. Contrary to HB, the sequential analysis revealed that ROM often anticipated offensive patterns such as play biting thus supporting the hypothesis that ROM, but not HB, is a metacomunicative signal. Moreover, when the offensive patterns were biased towards one of the two players, the session was punctuated by a higher number of ROMs. Our findings support the general hypothesis that these two visual signals can play different roles in the management of play fighting in this carnivore species. The complementary use of ROM and HB would suggest that spotted hyenas are highly competent and fast in processing facial displays of different nature to correctly “read others’ intentions” and respond with appropriate motor actions to avoid misunderstanding during one of the most multifaceted and risky social interaction.

scholarly journals Domestic dogs and puppies can use human voice direction referentially

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1785) ◽  
pp. 20133201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Rossano ◽  
Marie Nitzschner ◽  
Michael Tomasello
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Test ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Communicative Acts ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
The Right ◽  
Better Than

Domestic dogs are particularly skilled at using human visual signals to locate hidden food. This is, to our knowledge, the first series of studies that investigates the ability of dogs to use only auditory communicative acts to locate hidden food. In a first study, from behind a barrier, a human expressed excitement towards a baited box on either the right or left side, while sitting closer to the unbaited box. Dogs were successful in following the human's voice direction and locating the food. In the two following control studies, we excluded the possibility that dogs could locate the box containing food just by relying on smell, and we showed that they would interpret a human's voice direction in a referential manner only when they could locate a possible referent (i.e. one of the boxes) in the environment. Finally, in a fourth study, we tested 8–14-week-old puppies in the main experimental test and found that those with a reasonable amount of human experience performed overall even better than the adult dogs. These results suggest that domestic dogs’ skills in comprehending human communication are not based on visual cues alone, but are instead multi-modal and highly flexible. Moreover, the similarity between young and adult dogs’ performances has important implications for the domestication hypothesis.

Differential Involvement of Neurons in the Dorsal and Ventral Premotor Cortex During Processing of Visual Signals for Action Planning

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 3596-3616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Hoshi ◽  
Jun Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Neuron Response

We examined neuronal activity in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex (PMd and PMv, respectively) to explore the role of each motor area in processing visual signals for action planning. We recorded neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task during which two visual instruction cues were given successively with an intervening delay. One cue instructed the location of the target to be reached, and the other indicated which arm was to be used. We found that the properties of neuronal activity in the PMd and PMv differed in many respects. After the first cue was given, PMv neuron response mostly reflected the spatial position of the visual cue. In contrast, PMd neuron response also reflected what the visual cue instructed, such as which arm to be used or which target to be reached. After the second cue was given, PMv neurons initially responded to the cue's visuospatial features and later reflected what the two visual cues instructed, progressively increasing information about the target location. In contrast, the activity of the majority of PMd neurons responded to the second cue with activity reflecting a combination of information supplied by the first and second cues. Such activity, already reflecting a forthcoming action, appeared with short latencies (<400 ms) and persisted throughout the delay period. In addition, both the PMv and PMd showed bilateral representation on visuospatial information and motor-target or effector information. These results further elucidate the functional specialization of the PMd and PMv during the processing of visual information for action planning.

scholarly journals Sex recognition in surface and cave dwelling male Atlantic mollies Poecilia mexicana (Poeciliidae, Teleostei)

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (6) ◽  
pp. 765-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp ◽  
Martin Plath ◽  
Jakob Parzefall ◽  
Karsten Wiedemann
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Far Field ◽  
Sex Recognition ◽  
Stimulus Fish ◽  
Infrared Observations ◽  
Poecilia Mexicana ◽  
Male Stimulus ◽  
Livebearing Fish

AbstractAnimals colonizing lightless subterranean habitats can no longer rely on visual signals to find mating partners. In the present study, we investigated the ability of males to recognize females in two surface and a cave dwelling population of a livebearing fish, Poecilia mexicana. In surface populations males discriminated between sexes with visual plus non-visual cues available and with visual stimuli only. In the cave form the ability to discriminate with solely visual stimuli is lacking. In all three populations, males did not recognize females in darkness (infrared observations), suggesting that sex recognition via far-field communication is lacking in surface and cave dwelling P.mexicana. Different preferences in large and small males to stay near a female or a male stimulus fish probably reflect differences concerning a trade-off between sexual and aggressive behaviour.

The use of visual cues for spatial orientation in the sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa)

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Zuri ◽  
C M Bull
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Spatial Orientation ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Tiliqua Rugosa ◽  
Different Shapes

The sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) is a large, long-lived terrestrial Australian skink. In the present study we investigated the ability of sleepy lizards to use different visual cues for spatial orientation. The lizards were trained to locate shelters in certain places and then trained to certain signals associated with their shelters. In the absence of surrounding visual cues the lizards preferred familiar sites that were previously associated with their shelters. However, when presented with signals that had been associated with their shelters, they chose the vicinity of these familiar signals, even after their displacement to new sites. The lizards discriminated between black and white signals and between triangular and circular signals but not between red and green signals. Previous studies had shown that sleepy lizards exhibit home-range fidelity, raising the question of which environmental cues are important for them for spatial orientation within their home ranges. We suggest that the ability of sleepy lizards to discriminate between visual signals of different shapes and degrees of brightness enables them to "memorize" certain fixed landmarks in their large home ranges and to orient accordingly.

scholarly journals Visual cues and parental favouritism in a nocturnal bird

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deseada Parejo ◽  
Jesús M. Avilés ◽  
Juan Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Parental Preference ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Parental Bias

Visual signals are crucial for parent–offspring communication, although their functioning has been neglected for nocturnal birds. Here, we investigated parental preference for nestling coloration in nocturnal conditions—a question hitherto unexplored—in a nocturnal raptor, the scops owl ( Otus scops ). We assessed how parents allocated food during the night in relation to a manipulation of ultraviolet (UV) reflectance of the cere (skin above the beak) of their offspring. Reflectance of the cere shows a marked peak in the UV part of the spectrum, and location of the UV peak is related to nestling body mass (i.e. heavier nestlings have a UV peak at lower wavelengths). We found evidence of parental bias in favour of lighter offspring: UV-reduced nestlings gained more weight during the night than their control siblings. This study provides the first experimental evidence of the use of visual cues for parent–offspring communication in a nocturnal bird.

Differential Roles of Neuronal Activity in the Supplementary and Presupplementary Motor Areas: From Information Retrieval to Motor Planning and Execution

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 3482-3499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Hoshi ◽  
Jun Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Reaching Movement ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Motor Set ◽  
Information Combining ◽  
Motor Areas

We explored functional differences between the supplementary and presupplementary motor areas (SMA and pre-SMA, respectively) systematically with respect to multiple behavioral factors, ranging from the retrieval and processing of associative visual signals to the planning and execution of target-reaching movement. We analyzed neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task in which two visual instruction cues were given successively with a delay: one cue instructed the location of the reach target, and the other instructed arm use (right or left). After a second delay, the monkey received a motor-set cue to be prepared to make the reaching movement as instructed. Finally, after a GO signal, it reached for the instructed target with the instructed arm. We found the following apparent differences in activity: 1) neuronal activity preceding the appearance of visual cues was more frequent in the pre-SMA; 2) a majority of pre-SMA neurons, but many fewer SMA neurons, responded to the first or second cue, reflecting what was shown or instructed; 3) in addition, pre-SMA neurons often reflected information combining the instructions in the first and second cues; 4) during the motor-set period, pre-SMA neurons preferentially reflected the location of the target, while SMA neurons mainly reflected which arm to use; and 5) when executing the movement, a majority of SMA neurons increased their activity and were largely selective for the use of either the ipsilateral or contralateral arm. In contrast, the activity of pre-SMA neurons tended to be suppressed. These findings point to the functional specialization of the two areas, with respect to receiving associative cues, information processing, motor behavior planning, and movement execution.

scholarly journals Neuronal activity in the monkey prefrontal cortex during a duration discrimination task with visual and auditory cues

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Chiba ◽  
Kazunori Morita ◽  
Ken-ichi Oshio ◽  
Masahiko Inase
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Duration Discrimination ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Monkey Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Duration Discrimination Task

AbstractTo investigate neuronal processing involved in the integration of auditory and visual signals for time perception, we examined neuronal activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) of macaque monkeys during a duration discrimination task with auditory and visual cues. In the task, two cues were consecutively presented for different durations between 0.2 and 1.8 s. Each cue was either auditory or visual and was followed by a delay period. After the second delay, subjects indicated whether the first or the second cue was longer. Cue- and delay-responsive neurons were found in PFC. Cue-responsive neurons mostly responded to either the auditory or the visual cue, and to either the first or the second cue. The neurons responsive to the first delay showed activity that changed depending on the first cue duration and were mostly sensitive to cue modality. The neurons responsive to the second delay exhibited activity that represented which cue, the first or second cue, was presented longer. Nearly half of this activity representing order-based duration was sensitive to cue modality. These results suggest that temporal information with visual and auditory signals was separately processed in PFC in the early stage of duration discrimination and integrated for the final decision.

scholarly journals Natural visual cues eliciting predator avoidance in fiddler crabs

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1724) ◽  
pp. 3584-3592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Smolka ◽  
Jochen Zeil ◽  
Jan M. Hemmi
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Fiddler Crabs ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Biologically Relevant

To efficiently provide an animal with relevant information, the design of its visual system should reflect the distribution of natural signals and the animal's tasks. In many behavioural contexts, however, we know comparatively little about the moment-to-moment information-processing challenges animals face in their daily lives. In predator avoidance, for instance, we lack an accurate description of the natural signal stream and its value for risk assessment throughout the prey's defensive behaviour. We characterized the visual signals generated by real, potentially predatory events by video-recording bird approaches towards an Uca vomeris colony. Using four synchronized cameras allowed us to simultaneously monitor predator avoidance responses of crabs. We reconstructed the signals generated by dangerous and non-dangerous flying animals, identified the cues that triggered escape responses and compared them with those triggering responses to dummy predators. Fiddler crabs responded to a combination of multiple visual cues (including retinal speed, elevation and visual flicker) that reflect the visual signatures of distinct bird and insect behaviours. This allowed crabs to discriminate between dangerous and non-dangerous events. The results demonstrate the importance of measuring natural sensory signatures of biologically relevant events in order to understand biological information processing and its effects on behavioural organization.

scholarly journals Cotidianidad y Señales Visuales Espontáneas como Referentes de Creación Artística en la Era Global.

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Massimo Cova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Artistic Creation ◽  
Cultural Globalization

A good part of the shapes and content of contemporary artistic productiontakes aspects of daily life related to the complex consequences of economicand cultural globalization as its references of creation, along with thedevelopment and expansion of new technologies. It establishes a reflection oncontemporary art’s ability to translate and reconfigure several individual orgroup cultural values emanating from visual signals present in everydayenvironments and generated by the very movements that people make in theirinteractions. Some projects and models of contemporary artistic creation areshown and related that adopt spontaneous visual signals as formal andconceptual references, ephemeral and transitory outlines produced by humanbehaviours and which can be representative of ways of living and thinking inthe era of globalization. Works by diverse artists not conventionally linked bytheme, style or genre but which formalize and reconfigure visual cues notnormally considered inherent to the field of art.

scholarly journals study of the McGurk effect in 4 and 5-year-old French Canadian children

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Sophie Dupont ◽  
Jérôme Aubin ◽  
Lucie Ménard
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Old French ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Mcgurk Effect ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Auditory Signal ◽  
French Canadian ◽  
Perceptual Test ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Developmental Point

It has been shown that visual cues play a crucial role in the perception of vowels and consonants. Conflicting consonantal stimuli presented in the visual and auditory modalities can even result in the emergence of a third perceptual unit (McGurk effect). From a developmental point of view, several studies report that newborns can associate the image of a face uttering a given vowel to the auditory signal corresponding to this vowel; visual cues are thus used by the newborns. Despite the large number of studies carried out with adult speakers and newborns, very little work has been conducted with preschool-aged children. This contribution is aimed at describing the use of auditory and visual cues by 4 and 5-year-old French Canadian speakers, compared to adult speakers, in the identification of voiced consonants. Audiovisual recordings of a French Canadian speaker uttering the sequences [aba], [ada], [aga], [ava], [ibi], [idi], [igi], [ivi] have been carried out. The acoustic and visual signals have been extracted and analysed so that conflicting and non-conflicting stimuli, between the two modalities, were obtained. The resulting stimuli were presented as a perceptual test to eight 4 and 5-year-old French Canadian speakers and ten adults in three conditions: visual-only, auditory-only, and audiovisual. Results show that, even though the visual cues have a significant effect on the identification of the stimuli for adults and children, children are less sensitive to visual cues in the audiovisual condition. Such results shed light on the role of multimodal perception in the emergence and the refinement of the phonological system in children.  

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